Amusingly, I recognize several of these firearms from BF2.

IMGP2196

From our October trip to King Island.

Seems that the locals don’t go for the whole billboard thing. Can’t say i blame them.

Turns out flying in Utah is a never-ending battle to fly between clouds and mountains alike.

Jervis Bay from 38,000ft

That’s Jervis Bay just to the side of the outer-port engine. A nice way to re-enter the country.

Qantas’ Stupid “Welcome to Melbourne” Video

Not five minutes after I clicked send on the last post, an ambulance crew busts into the lounge to work on some poor woman who has gone down with chest pains. Not good.

This morning’s flight: very nice, but I cannot understand why Qantas insists on making people watch this stupid introductory Melbourne video in the last hour of the flight. For crying out loud. 50% of the people on these flights are from Melbourne, and they know how to use a ‘friggin MetCard.

Oh, and Mark Philippoussis was on my flight. That’s my brush with fame for the week.

View from the LAX Hilton

Nobody in the airport lounge I am sitting in is happy. The BNE flight out of LAX tonight has been cancelled due to “mechanical issues”, and everyone is scrambling to find alternate transportation. Not me though, mercifully. Got me a business class seat on the upper deck.

Earlier today: here’s the view from the LAX Hilton where I stayed last night after my flight out of New York. Best insulated glass you have ever seen in your life. Even though you’re about 1km from the runway threshold on the north airfield you cannot hear a thing.

Turns out this hotel was a location for “Heat” (De Niro, Pacino, etc.) 12 or so years ago, but more on that later.

From the GZ

Following today’s meeting I went down to the the GZ. Sort of a semi-annual pilgrimage for me which I try to do every time I am in NYC.

Key features to notice: there’s still a big hole in the ground, and the Deutsche Bank Building (130 Liberty) still hasn’t been torn down.

Following this I had the unexpected surprise of being given a limo to the airport:

The PATF Hard at work

Here I am again in NYC, doing volunteer work on IEEE Comsoc’s certification activity. Sandy is making us work 12 hour days with working meal breaks, and is getting her money’s worth from us, as usual.

Senator The Hon. Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts

Dear Minister,

I wrote you on 2 May this year expressing my support for Telstra’s plan to broadband Australia. For your information, that same day I wrote much the same letter to my local member Mr. Lindsay Tanner, MP. Mr. Tanner had the courtesy to return my email promptly, and with some information pertaining to the ALP’s plan for Australia. You, on the other hand, have yet to provide a response to my email.

Will you be responding to my email? Or am I to infer from your non-response that the Liberal Party has no plan for broadbanding the country?

Yours sincerely

Peter Wills